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Presentation is everything, so make your products look as attractive as possible. Whether you’re promoting the item via the web, a catalog or a brochure, invest in good photography. It encourages an emotional response. Also pay close attention to the copy. If something about a product is unique, make sure you describe how. And if you want repeat business, differentiate yourself from the competition by offering something your competitors don’t, be it personalized service or exclusive products. If your in outside sales then be presentable. Spend a few dollars and have a polo shirt embroidered with your company logo. Don’t go on sales call with your dirty work clothes. You reflect your company and customers will see quality if you and your material look the part.

Six steps to a quality presentation

1. Make the presentation relevant to your prospect. Have a guide for your presentation but make each presentation unique to the client you are working with. You need to make a personal connection with each prospect. If you use a generic presentation for all customers how do you expect to make a personal connection?

2. Create a connection between your product/service and the prospect. If possible make a sample that is specific to what the customer has indicated they are looking for. You can also buy an AutoCAD program that you can create customer sample layouts for landscaping, architecture and so on.

3. Get to the point. Don’t be like some of the franchises that send a sales rep out and spends an hour selling you on the company. At the end of the hour you haven’t heard anything about the product. Be direct and respect your customer’s time.

4. Be animated. You really want to stand out from the crowd, make sure you demonstrate enthusiasm and energy throughout your presentation.

5. Use a physical demonstration. Depending on your business bring samples, pictures, or take your prospective customer to completed job so they can see the quality first hand.

6. Lastly, believe in your product/service. Without a doubt, this is the most critical component of any presentation. When you discuss solutions, do you become more animated and energetic? After all, if you can’t get excited about your product, how can you expect your customer to become motivated enough to buy?

I’m sure that we’d all like to live the life of a rock star. To be on stage in front of thousands of adoring fans who are using their listening skills to hang on to our every word is everyone’s dream. However, the harsh reality of life is that for most of us the majority of “stage time” that we’re going to get will occur in a business setting. What can we do to make those presentations as powerful as possible?

It’s All About The Conclusion

In a business meeting your audience has come to hear you speak not because they want to be entertained or be wowed by your presentation tips, but rather because they want to learn from you. More often than not you’ve done some research or you’ve been involved in a project that they want to have more information on.

We all know about the importance of public speaking. What this means for you is that you’ve got to present to your audience the information that they want right off the bat. The last thing that you want to do is to make them have to sit through your entire presentation in order to get their hands on the piece of information that they came for.

That being said, why bother with the rest of your presentation after you’ve shared your conclusion with them? That’s pretty simple – they may not believe you! You reached your conclusion based on information that you gathered. Just presenting your conclusion is not enough for your audience. Instead, you now need to show them how you reached your conclusion.

Since they already know where you are going to end up because you’ve shared your conclusion with them, they are better able to follow the rest of your presentation. No, they may not all agree with your reasoning and they may not agree with your conclusion, but at least they’ll be able to follow along and understand how you reached it.

This is how discussions start. If your presentation can clearly communicate your conclusions and either get your audience to accept your conclusions or at least get them to start to discuss them, then you will have done your job as a speaker.

What Are Your Recommendations?

Just reaching a conclusion based on information that you’ve gathered is not enough. Remember that you are presenting in a business environment and a business is always looking for ways to move forward.

Your recommendations will be based on your conclusions. This means that your recommendations are going to be a key part of your presentation. I’m going to recommend that you hold off on presenting your recommendations until the end of your presentation.

Your goal here is going to be to open your speech with your conclusions, follow this up with an explanation of how you reached your conclusions, and then wrap things up with a presentation of your recommendations.

By making your recommendations be the last thing that you present, you’ll set the stage for the discussion that will occur after your speech is over. Your recommendations will be the last thing that was in your audience’s minds and they’ll either be able to accept them, or at the very least start a discussion about them.

What All Of This Means For You

A business presentation is the type of speech that most of us will find ourselves doing the majority of the time. Our audience will be showing up to learn what we know and we need to make sure that we present our information in a way that they get what they came for. This is one of the benefits of public speaking – we really can reach an entire group of people all at once.

The conclusions that you’ve reached based on the information that you’ve gathered or the project that you’ve been part of is what your audience wants to know right off the bat. After that you can share with them how you went about reaching your conclusions. Wrap things up by presenting your recommendations. This is the last thing that you want to leave them with.

I suspect that you’ve had to sit through a number of business presentations that were quite horrible. Don’t let this be your fate. Instead, give your audience what they came for right off the bat and then tell them what you want them to do. They may not agree with you, but at least they’ll remember what you said!

Are you stressed about an upcoming presentation? Would you like to create powerful presentations that are both effective and interesting? This article helps you create inspiring presentations which will boost your standing as a public speaker.

From the start, treat your presentation planning as a specific project. As a project, the process order will be: Think, Plan Your Story, Design, Optimise, and Present. Following these guidelines will help you strengthen your weaker areas so you approach the task with more confidence.

Think

Set goals for your presentation. For example, consider the following: What is the point of my presentation? Why does my audience need to hear this? What are the outcomes or benefits they will experience as a result? Have I provided value?

Next, think about your audience…

What do you know about your audience profile? What are their education level, age, profession, job title, attention-span, their level of existing knowledge and experience of the topic? A good understanding of your audience will help you develop appropriate content.

Also, bear in mind any restrictions you might face when presenting your presentation (time limits, technological, logistical, language, space and even time of day). Weigh up additional materials or resources you’ll need (hand-outs, projector, laptop, memory stick, business cards, laser pointer, etc.) and how to get them in place for the event.

Remember: Goal, Audience, Restrictions, Resources

Plan Your Story

Firstly, create the right mental and physical setting to concentrate on the task in hand. You must be able to work without interruption or distractions. Many of the best presenters insist that the best and most successful approach is to begin with pen or paper/post-it notes/white-board to jot down ideas and link them using arrows and lines.

A diagrammatic approach with additional rough notes gives you an unparalleled sense of the entire presentation through its key ideas and concepts. This can later be organised into more understandable whole. This initial thinking and creating process cannot be done as effectively on your computer so don’t be tempted to start here thinking you’re saving time!

Lastly, when thinking and creating this way, don’t forget to cross-check this rough draft against your planned goals so your ideas remain focused. Your points must be pertinent, relevant, and concise as well as offer value as defined by your goals.

Design

A presentation is used as a means of communicating with your audience. A good presentation is simple/easy to follow and it gets the point across in a way that they understand. An excellent presentation does so in a way that they actually enjoy the experience.

Now having scoped out your ideas and put them into a logical progression, you can use the computer to create the documents, slides, images, or spread sheets which will illustrate or enforce the points to be made. When designing visual material, avoid an abundance of content or you’ll end up with an overwhelmed audience fatigued from information-overload.

Your visual material should be simple, informational, elegant, and pleasing to the eye. Use entertaining images, uncomplicated diagrams and other visual tools that neatly summarise or highlight the point you are making. Remember the audience can contact you directly for more detailed information so show your contact details at the start and at the end of the presentation.

Be aware of consistent formatting (font type, size, colour, etc.) and keep your business branding visible without detracting from the information presented. Let the slides flow coherently and as a complement to your narrative. It is always worth watching the finished presentation on a similar screen if possible before the event to iron out any deficiencies.

Optimise

Key to your performance on the day is practise! Proofread for any errors or incoherence, cross-check against your stated goals and objectives to confirm that the presentation is still on track. Then practise until the material seems natural and familiar – this helps the audience retain the key information you want them to hold.

Timing yourself to keep you on track of time restraints and if need be, set appropriate timing protocols on your slide show to match your narrative. If producing hand- outs, allow time to create, print, and package them to a good standard.

Present

It’s time to present your masterpiece presentation. Using your resources checklist, you’ve all the equipment and materials you need. Remember you’ve planned, prepared, and practised – trust now in your ability to perform with confidence!

Maintain regular breathing, keep an eye on time, keep it simple and remember that you do know your material. By focusing on three or four individuals in the audience (in the front, one in the mid-distance, and one each in the right/left far distance), you can reduce a large crowd into a more intimate group. Smiling at these key faces both relaxes you and increases audience rapport.

By planning, preparing, andpractising, you’ve the ability to become an authoritative and entertaining public speaker. I wish you all the best in your future presentations and I’d love to hear feedback on your success.